About Lwazi Hlati 

Lwazi Hlati is a lyric tenor from Johannesburg, South Africa, and one of the most sought-after voices of his generation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Arts from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), along with a Master’s degree and a Performer’s Diploma from Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts. He completed a Graduate Artist Certificate in Opera Performance at the University of North Texas and is now pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance at the University of Southern California. 

He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Artistic Merit Award from Meadows School of the Arts, the Bruce R. Foote Memorial Award, support from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust and SAMRO, and the Artist Merit Award from the South African National Arts Council. He earned First Place for Best Art Song Presentation at the 2023 Duncan Williams Voice Competition (New York City Opera & Manhattan School of Music), and First Place in the 2024 American Opera Idol Competition in Connecticut.

Hlati has earned acclaim for a wide range of operatic roles. Notable appearances include Don José in Carmen (Opera North), Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera in the Ozarks), and Miguel in Offenbach’s Pépito (The Dallas Opera). With Fort Worth Opera, he sang Gastone in La Traviata, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and appeared in Porgy and Bess. Other highlights include Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Fenton in Falstaff, Prunier in La rondine, and Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire, as well as concert appearances across Africa and Greece.

He recently participated in a workshop of Lincoln in the Bardo, a new opera by Missy Mazzoli commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. His concert appearances include Saviour: A Modern Oratorio Concert at Birchman Baptist Church in Fort Worth and the American Opera Idol Winner Concert in Connecticut, hosted by the Farmington Valley and Hartford Chapters of The Links, Incorporated. He also recently performed the role of Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème with Chautauqua Opera.